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Thread ID: 68420	2006-04-27 09:46:00	Need help with diagnosing the symptoms of a syndrome	Renmoo (66)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
450040	2006-04-27 09:46:00	If you have read through the novel Of mice and men, by John Steinback (en.wikipedia.org) , the major character, Lennie, seems to be having some kind of disease. Lennie is described (Wikipedia) as a "large, strong man with the mind of a child". Lennie's love (more like obsession) of touching soft things results in an accusation of rape by a woman whose dress he felt in the town of Weed. He constantly needs to be assured by his acquaintance, George, of the right-conduct of his doings. He is also particularly vulnerable to verbal harrassment. I suspect he was having Down Syndrome, given by his childish behaviour who is obsessed with touching soft things. Could someone out please there confirm this? Cheers and thanks :)	Renmoo (66)
450041	2006-04-27 10:08:00	If you have read through the novel [URL=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_mice_and_men] I suspect he was having Down Syndrome, given by his childish behaviour who is obsessed with touching soft things. Could someone out please there confirm this? Others more knowledgeable than me will comment but I have never made such a connection. From my limited experience people with Downs Syndrome are gentle and loving people ...but not obsessive. They can, I think, have a childlike wonder about the nature of things. Misty :2cents:	Misty (368)
450042	2006-04-27 10:38:00	James, I am not sure that it is necessary to find a 'syndrome' with the character of Lennie. If you look here: www.gradesaver.com it just says: "A gigantic mentally disabled man, Lennie is simplistic and docile. He obsesses over simple sensory pleasures, particularly those that are tactile. He finds great joy in touching soft things, whether a cotton dress or a soft puppy. Although Lennie is inherently innocent, he is still capable of great violence, for he lacks the capacity to physically control himself and has a great protective instinct. Lennie is fixated on the dream of having a small piece of land with George, but can only remember one aspect of this dream. His obsession is having a small rabbit hutch where he can tend rabbits, but cannot grasp the entirety of George's plan. Lennie is almost entirely incapable of making decisions by himself and relies on George for action." Wikipedia says Lennie has the mind of a child. Other sources on the net say similar things - he is mentally disabled, 'slow', etc. All of these characteristics could be explained in a variety of ways, but I don't think Steinbeck wanted us to seek a psychiatric or other medical 'diagnosis', do you? Diagnosis in that sense seems to be a distraction. If there was any intention on Steinbeck's part to suggest Down's Syndrome, I suspect there would be more definite clues. Is it really relevant to the novel whether there is a 'syndrome' or not? I would doubt it. It is probably more profitable to ask not what is 'wrong' with Lennie, but what was the author intending with the character? What aspect of human nature does this character represent in the scheme of the novel? Why did the author decide that this character was to be this way?	John H (8)
450043	2006-04-27 11:34:00	An interesting thought there, John. No, I am not particularly required to find out what's wrong with Lennie; it is just my curiosity of the world that prompted me to do that (I like Chemistry a lot, :D ) The book was written in the 1920 / 30 era, when the medical knowledge was not yet highly developed. It could be that when Steinback wrote the book, he tried to make everything as layman as possible so that we, as the reader would understand that there is something wrong with Lennie (i.e. mentally retarded). Cheers and thanks :)	Renmoo (66)
450044	2006-04-28 04:59:00	James - until very recently, Downs Syndrome people were commonly called Mongoloid or Mongols. So if Steinbeck had wanted to, he'd have described Lennie that way. But he didn't. Lennie is just simple. Intellectually handicapped. Could be fetal alcohole, oxygen deprivation, genetic - it doesn't really matter. Great book. For a modern day example see the classic film "Straw Dogs".	Winston001 (3612)
450045	2006-04-28 06:32:00	Lennie is just simple. Intellectually handicapped. Could be fetal alcohole, oxygen deprivation, genetic - it doesn't really matter. Or just retarded. Or autistic in one of its forms...	pctek (84)
450046	2006-04-29 10:52:00	James - until very recently, Downs Syndrome people were commonly called Mongoloid or Mongols. So if Steinbeck had wanted to, he'd have described Lennie that way. But he didn't. Lennie is just simple. Intellectually handicapped. Could be fetal alcohole, oxygen deprivation, genetic - it doesn't really matter. Great book. For a modern day example see the classic film "Straw Dogs". I certainly appreciate the comment that you have made there, Winston. I will bear them in mind. Cheers :)	Renmoo (66)
450047	2006-04-29 11:26:00	I certainly appreciate the comment that you have made there, Winston. I will bear them in mind. Cheers :) Hi James "comment" bear "it" in mind ! "comments" bear "them" in mind ! Misty being pedantic :thumbs:	Misty (368)
450048	2006-04-29 21:17:00	Hi James "comment" bear "it" in mind ! "comments" bear "them" in mind ! Misty being pedantic :thumbs: How about bear "that" in mind? "it" doesn't seem right to me.	Greven (91)
450049	2006-04-29 23:56:00	How about bear "that" in mind? "it" doesn't seem right to me. Hi Greven Both are correct - it is an "either/or" situation cheers Misty :thumbs:	Misty (368)
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